love lola. i cannot not love lola who is a 3-year-old girl. so that will always be in my heart as well. >> sal perez, it's great to see you. i congratulate you. looking forward to this new 53rd season. thank you for being with us this morning. and the new season debuts today on hbo max with new episodes dropping every thursday. sal perez, thank you. >> thank you. >> i'm jose diaz-balart. you can always reach me on twitter and instagram. be sure to follow the show online at jdbalart on msnbc. thank you for the privilege of your time. yasmin picks up with more right

now. >> great to see you here. i'm yasmin vossoughian at msnbc headquarters. the president hitting the campaign trail with five days left until the midterms. he's heading out west, making stops in mexico, california as well with new urgency around threats to our democracy. here is part of the message that he delivered last night. >> there's no place for voter intimidation or political violence in america. whether it's directed at democrats or republicans. no place, period. no place ever. democracy is on the ballot this year. >> will it actually help or matter with voters? the "new york times" notes this, while in agreement with the message, not every democrat thought it was helpful to make the address when candidates are trying to distance themselves from the president who's approval ratings are in the

mid-40s and polls are focused on inflation as well as immigration, crime and abortion as well. and poll after poll showing in this closing stretch, it is still the economy that is top of mind for voters and there is new pressure on that front. the federal reserve is raising interest rates yet again. now at the highest level since 2008. tomorrow we're going to get a look at the labor force with the last jobs report before the election. we're going to take a look at the issues that the influencing voters like you in some key battleground states. new demands for answers after the attack against paul pelosi, a sad reminder of political violence in this country. one senior democratic lawmaker is looking for answer about why the capitol police did not do more to protect the house speaker's husband. all of that ahead, everybody. we want to start with that clicking talk towards the midterms just five days away now. ellison barber is in georgia for

us, dasha burns is in pennsylvania. ellison, let me start with you. neck and neck it seems, the senate race there. really important, obviously, for dems to hold control of the senate, for republicans to flip control of the senate. or have a narrow lead at that. what are we looking at today in georgia? >> reporter: yeah, right, we're on the campaign trail with warnock's team today. but both candidates have just incredibly packed schedules in these final days. early voting in georgia ends tomorrow. we have seen in-person early voting in this state smash records, but the question right now is will it be enough. remember, in georgia, in order for a candidate to avoid a runoff, they have to pass 50% threshold. otherwise it goes to a runoff that will take place in december. when you look at the polls, most polls are showing these two

candidates, warnock and walker, in a statistical tie with neither candidate breaking that threshold. warnock is at 44%, walker at 43%. split ticket voters, they could also be a factor here in this fox news poll, they found that 10% of republican voters say they are undecided, won't vote or will vote for someone other than walker. and that is what is found in the latest poll, according to that poll, they -- there was a small but significant percent of republican-leaning voters saying they're not going to support herschel walker. there was about 10% -- 6% that said they they would vote for the incumbent republican governor brian kemp but vote for warnock. an additional 5% said they were going to be voting for the libertarian candidate chase oliver. as we've spoken to voters in recent weeks, a handful of republican-leaning voters have

told us that they have concerns, questions about some of the controversy that have surrounded the republican candidate herschel walker. he's been accused by two women of paying for an abortion. he's denied those allegations. but it is giving some republican voters pause. such a tight race, if you have 10% of republican-leaning voters looking at other options, that could really be an incredibly -- have an incredibly large impact on this race. >> dasha, obviously looking at georgia, right, 44/43, nail-biter there. moving over to pennsylvania, nail-biter as well when it comes to the senate seat. fetterman is going to be addressing voters in the next hour or so from now. five days left in these midterms. i was in pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago. everybody i talked to on both sides of the aisle, number one issue, economy. what is fetterman's push here in the final days? >> the economy. this event that he's about to

hold with bob casey, they will be talking about inflation, talking about how to make the economy work for working people. i'm here in one of the places we've been tracking for our county-to-county project. this is an area that was once a blue dog democrat territory. democratic stronghold. union votes that were always the places that democrats would count on. that changed in 2016. folks fell disillusioned for the democratic party, voted for trump in double digits. and the voters focus on that economic message, they felt left behind. they felt like they weren't being heard here. so fetterman making a stop here is important. these are the kind of union voters that fetterman is really trying to appeal to. the concern here, though, is his debate performance not just on the health front, but his answer on fracking really made a lot of people here worry. because this is an issue that is

central to pennsylvania. it is all about energy. and i want you to take a listen to a gentleman name cameron cox. he's a lineman. he's voted for both democrats and republicans. it's happening here in pennsylvania in a big way, he's planning to split his ticket. take a listen. >> so when did you make up your mind for the senate race? >> debate night, 8:30, when he talked about fracking. he's strongly, strongly against natural gas. >> reporter: when you look at the governor's race, why shapiro and not mastriano. >> you can hold shapiro accountable. mastriano doesn't care if he's accountable or not. >> reporter: republicans feel that mastriano is too extreme. but you heard it there, some folks concerned about where fetterman stands on fracking.

oz will also be holding an event tonight. everyone out in full force. there's a lot that can happen in the next five days here. >> that is such fascinating stuff. really could go either way at this point. >> i want to bring in kelly o. from the white house now to talk more about yesterday evening. the prime time address last night. we heard from the president there. of course he's going to be heading out west in the next hour or so to address voters five days out at this point. last night was all about saving the democracy here in this country. you're out on the campaign trail, though, you're hearing about the economy, the number one top issue. what is going to be the president's messaging here five days out when he heads out west? >> reporter: one of the challenges for president biden and the democrats he is campaigning alongside and for is that there are several messages. they do, of course, want to talk about the economy. they think they have some strong things to emphasize with a good jobs picture and higher wages

even though people are dealing with the pain of inflation. they believe that they have taken legitimate steps to reduce some costs in key areas in people's every day lives. and at the same time, they believe there is not just an urgent matter as many people feel about the economy, but a longer-term issue with democracy and having institutions that will withstand some of the political wins of the moment. talking about those issues. that makes it harder. closing message is simpler when it's about one or two things. they're trying to cover a lot of ground. earlier today the chief of staff was talking about the this on morning joe. here's what he had to say. >> we've had this discussion in the news media about, oh, should we talk about democracy, should he talk about the economy, should we talk about abortion. you've seen the president on the stump talking about all these things. it's important to explain that before the country right now, are two very different futures. two very different directions. and the president is making it

clear what his direction is, and also making it very clear what the other direction is. >> reporter: so what that comes down to is trying to reshape a midterm election which tends to be a referendum on the party in power. are you happy with what they've done? are you satisfied with what's been accomplished? putting that aside, says the white house, and says it's a choice between the vision the democrats have and the vision the republicans have. trying to put voters in a different place but to say, do you believe in what republicans are calling for going forward? and that can be a harder sell in this political environment. yasmin? >> waiting and seeing, of course. kelly o., thank you. thank you, guys, as well. i want to bring in a democratic pollster, tim miller as well, former communications director for jeb bush's 2016

presidential campaign. both are msnbc political analysts. welcome to you both, guys. thanks for joining us on this. let's start on this, first, obviously the president's address yesterday evening when it came to saving the democracy in this country and it was followed up by former president barack obama in arizona also kind of making a similar address amidst all the other things that he's out there stumping for. let's take a little bit of a listen to former president barack obama last night in arizona, what he had to say to folks there. >> why would you vote for somebody who you know is not telling the truth about something? what happens when truth doesn't matter anymore? >> cornell, what do you make of this? you heard ron klain saying, we're talking about all of these issues, but i wonder for voters who are focused on the economy, right, that when you address issues about the democracy five days out, it drowns out iue

right now. the same day, obviously, that we had yet another fed rate hike. >> you know, i'm a little amused by all this because it's -- the economy is always the number one issue. every election i've been in the economy is the number one issue. i want to step back. it's like so many of us in the pundit class, if you only talk about two issues, you completely lose them. it's a far more complicated issue than that. the economy is always at the top. if you only talked about the economy, you would be doing campaign malpractice. voters have other issue concerns. you think moms aren't worried about education? you think moms aren't worried about gun control. there's a lot of issues and every campaign has to sort of cover a swath of issues and explain to voters where i am on

this issue versus where my opponent is on this issue. to say it's the economy and if you're not talking about the economy, you are losing something. i think is from a campaign standpoint, that will be absolutely malpractice because the economy is always top issue. that doesn't mean that voters don't want to hear where you are on guns, don't want to hear where you are on social security, don't want to hear where you are on raising the minimum wage. >> it's such a good point, cornell. my follow up, though, is, why then is it not resonating? and i'll tell you this, let me read for you from "politico." two-thirds of voters believe the economy is in a recession despite new data released last week showing that the economy grew in the third quarter. the 16th consecutive week in the poll that more than 60% of voters said they believe the u.s. economy is already in a recession. of course, poll after poll shows americans responding to the fact that they feel as if republicans are in a better position to right side the economy than

democrats. why is it not resonating? >> it is resonating. here's the thing, we can have this conversation postelection. after the election, you're going to see in the postelection data this, you're going to see that democrats won voters, broke heavy for voters whose top two concerns were among issues about democracy and issues about choice. and republican voters won issues of economy. you know what they always do, in 2012, voters who were most worried about the economy, when the economy was bad and barack obama won his second majority, they did the same thing. it is not one issue. one issue doesn't completely dominate the minds of voters and there's a difference between top issue and a mobilizing issue. if you don't think that choice is an issue that mobilizes women voters, i got some data in kansas from a couple months back to talk to you with.

because it absolutely is a mobilizing issue. >> you and i have that appointment after the election, then, to kind of hash this whole thing out. tim, let's talk about postelection if we can for a moment. let me read for you what the "new york times" is now reporting about former president trump attorneys that are now armed, essentially, to fight any elections they feel are not won. at least three dozen lawyers and law firms are now working for republican candidates parties and other groups filing lawsuits and other complaints that could lay the groundwork for challenging the results of midterm elections according to a "new york times" analysis of legal filings. we've heard from kari lake on the record, essentially, the only thing that she will accept is if she actually wins this election, right? how concerned are you right now for what will come after the results come in?

>> i think we have to be quite concerned. and i actually think there's a lack of alarms, going to remind me of the period before 2020 when some of us never trumpers were sounding the alarms. i think there needs to be real alarm about challenges to the election, about violence, about violence against polling places. and i think that we haven't done a lot of changes to what got us into this mess in 2020, republicans lying about what was happening with the elections, number one, and number two, taking a lot of time to count votes. and it's the republicans in the legislature who won't let the state by law start counting early and mail-in votes until election day. so just by necessity, they're not even going to begin counting in pennsylvania until after the polls are closed which is going to mean it's going to take a couple of days to count the

votes. doug mastriano was there january 6th at the capitol for donald trump's attempted coup. and so i do think that this is stuff to be worried about. there are groups like protect democracy that are out there doing the lawsuits, protecting the ballot box, and so i think steps are being made. but i think that the alarm meters a little low for what my senses of how things could go next week. >> talk about steps being made here. also in arizona, tim, a federal judge ordering a group monitoring ballot drop box staying at least 75 feet away from ballot boxes and correct false statements that members have made about arizona election laws. are we ever going to return to a time in which people are able to trust the system? >> not as long as we have leaders that are stoking lies. why would people trust the system right now? it's not like we've had hotly contested elections before.

mitt romney's election was closer than donald trump's election. but these guys didn't stoke this kind of violence and didn't spread these lies. until we have responsible republican leaders, i think we're going to have these threats and i'm glad one of the groups that filed the lawsuit to protect those drop boxes and ballot boxes, ballot locations in arizona, a place where i think it's going to be a hotbed of threats, you know, because of kari lake, because of the secretary of state who is an insurrectionist, paul gosar is a congressman there. i'm glad that there are lawsuits in place. but, you know, you can't stop every threat. and so, look, just back to cornell's point. i understand the frustration of some people who see this threat clearly, who want every voter to be voting on democracy and i think there are some. i think that this is why you're seeing closer races than maybe you would see in a normal midterm election when the outparty always does better. but there aren't as many as we

wish there were. but this doesn't mean this isn't something we should be talking about. >> you mentioned gore/bush. i wonder what would have been happened with those results in place if it were today. cornell, you and i after the election. tim miller, thank you as well. come upcoming, everybody. cell phone alarms blaring overnight in japan after north korea fired another missile. plus, did capitol police miss warning signs ahead of the violent attack on speaker pelosi's husband. with yesterday's rate hike, everything from buying a car to paying off your credit card debt could get more expensive. the economic pressure on voters as they cast their ballots. >> we know that inflation needs to be dealt with. we know that infrastructure needs are out there. we know that health care is a big issue. that health care is a big issue. honey. yeah. i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad. try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love,

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brian cheung is joining me now to take a deeper dive. it's great to talk to you as always. i know we're taking a look at key swing states. that's where it's resonating most especially when it comes to the economy. arizona, pennsylvania, wisconsin. hitting them differently, right, in different ways. >> we talked about the overall economy, this kind of nebulous idea. but it's important to remember that each state is their own economy. what we see when we take a look at each individual state is a different type of pressure on what voters are facing. let's start off with wisconsin. these aren't the only battleground states but these are competitive ones. $5.26. that's for a gallon of milk in america's dairy land. that's 32% higher than it was that time last year when it was about $3.99. that's led to a lot of food insecurity, it's not just milk, it's produce, and meat.

a food bank goes out to rural areas and see cars lining up in the hundreds to get help there. in arizona, it's a different story. what we're seeing is higher rent prices because of the hot phoenix metropolitan area. rent going up by 21% according to government statistics. i spoke with someone who said they saw rent go up by 40%. it was also going up by 40% across the entire neighborhood. that's led to housing insecurity. homelessness becoming a big issue that we've heard the senate and gubernatorial races focus on. in pennsylvania, we're not talking about inflation, but interesting to see the trend on what we're seeing in employment. when we see job openings going down by 28% in the keystone state. very interesting. because nationally, 3.5% unemployment rate, that's the lowest we've seen since 1969. right now you see hiring firms in pennsylvania getting less aggressive and wanting to hire people, perhaps, because the anticipation of a slower economy next year where they won't need as many people, does that make

the unemployment picture change remains to be seen. >> so we're not necessarily seeing across the board, for instance, dairy where it is in wisconsin, right? >> we're seeing higher prices but not at 32%, per se. we've seen prices go up nationally. but in wisconsin, it's been pronounced. same story with housing. everywhere across the country, rent is getting more expensive. but the phoenix area is very, very high. >> you have to pay 21% more in rent but you're not making more money to make that up. >> a big trend where a lot of people in arizona who are asking for help, they have jobs. it's not like 2008 where they got laid off. people with jobs are asking for help. >> they're not making enough money. >> right. >> really important stuff. one of the most senior lawmakers in the house is raising major questions about why the capitol police did not do more to protect paul pelosi. zoe lofgren send a five-page

letter to the chief saying the incident raises significant questions about security protections for members of congress, particularly those in the presidential line of succession. paul pelosi was attacked by an intruder armed with a hammer at their san francisco home. the suspect faces both federal and state charges. garrett haake is following this for us. talk to us, what questions does congressman lofgren want answered and are there resources really there for fundamental security changes? >> if there's not, it's possible that there will be, and that's the direction that she goes in this letter. capitol police based on their staffing and relationships, you feel like to a large degree, they did what they're supposed to do in this instance, which is protect speaker pelosi. they're not built to necessarily protect her home as it stands right now. congresswoman lofgren's letter

focuses on ways in which that might be different. she asked whether all of their proper procedures were followed protecting someone like the speaker, who is in the line of succession. she also asked about the relationships the capitol hill police has with local police in san francisco. capitol police has kind of a bureau in san francisco for this very reason. and she asked about their relationships with the u.s. secret service and whether they follow the secret service's best practices for protecting their protectees. so what i think we're seeing here is the groundwork being laid for a potential hearing about this down the line. capitol police have been clear, they're reviewing this whole incident. the police chief put out a statement the other day saying that the threat environment is such now that they're probably going to need more resources to do the kinds of things that lofgren is laying out here might be necessary. so, i think you could look at this letter as a jumping off point for another hearing in the future, potentially about how

the capitol police which is already under way this transformation, could do better as a protective service which is an increasingly important part of their role. >> especially as we head towards yet another election after we pass the midterms here. thank you, garrett, good to see you. up next, north korea fired off another missile overnight heightening the rising safety fears in japan and south korea. we're going to go live to seoul for the latest on that. new sign that is russia may be backing away from weeks of nuclear threats. the new messaging ahead. nuclear threats. the new messaging ahead. i tried everything to remove fabric odors, but my clothes still smelled. until i finally found new downy rinse and refresh! unlike many other products, downy rinse & refresh doesn't cover odors or leave residues... it helps remove them. it's safe on all fabrics and gentle on skin -- just add to your fabric softener tray. downy rinse & refresh helps remove odors up to 3 times better than detergent alone, so fabrics look and smell clean. try new downy rinse & refresh.

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and protect california kids. vote yes on proposition 31. welcome back, everybody. we're following breaking news overseas. pakistan's former president was injured after a gunman opened fire. one official says he was wounded in the foot and not seriously hurt. it happened while he was traveling with a convoy of trucks as he tried to force the

government to hold early elections. others in his convoy were hurt. we don't know how many right now. the shooter's motives are unclear. he was ousted in april through a no-confidence vote in parliament. he alleged his ouster was a conspiracy from his successor in the u.s. which the new prime minister in washington have denied. this is not the first time attack on a pakistani politician. also some more scary moments on the korean peninsula after north korea launched another round of missiles. this is coming after the country fired three missiles overnight, including a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile. that launched forced the japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and halt trains. these launches coming a day after north korea fired more than 20 missiles, the most it has ever fired in a single day. all of it is raising new fears that kim jong-un could be on the verge of conducting his first

nuclear test in five years. raf sanchez is in seoul, south korea, with the latest on this. troubling on the world stage and domestically, of course, inside both south korea and japan. what is happening there on the ground specifically and are there any signs that we could see more tests to come? >> reporter: yeah, that is the big question, is this sudden flurry of north korean missile tests a prelude to them moving ahead with a nuclear test. if they do, that would be a major escalation. it would be their first nuclear test in five years. viewers might remember, kim jong-un ahead of those famous or infamous meetings with donald trump actually paused his country's nuclear testing. he scaled back a lot of its missile testing. but right now, there is really no diplomacy at all between the united states and north korea. only brinksmanship and that is

what we are seeing today. the north koreans have fired six missiles today, including, an icbm, a south korean government official tells us they suspect that missile was a 17, north korea's most advanced missile, a range of 9,000 miles. and in theory, could hit anywhere inside the united states, d.c., new york, anywhere in theory is a target. it does look like the missile today failed. it was initially looking like it was going to fly over japan, that's what caused those letters in japan, sending people to shelter, causing bullet trains to be halted. the missile looks to have fall no one the sea of japan. they fired shorter range missiles that the united states has condemned that launched and we're expecting to hear more from lloyd austin in an hour at the pentagon. the u.s. and south korea saying

in response to these missile tests, they are going to extend these massive military drills they've been carrying out this week in south korea. yasmin? >> raf sanchez for us, thank you. let's turn to ukraine, everybody, and this potential sign that russia may be trying to lower the temperature after weeks of firing nuclear rhetoric. in a new and bland statement, the russian foreign minister reaffirmed its long-standing policies on nukes. russia is guided by the tenet that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. molly hunter is in ukraine's capitol with the latest on that, and joined by steph tweety and an msnbc military analyst. molly, let me start with you on this one. there seems to be a lot of questions when it comes to kherson who has been under russian control and a major goal, obviously, for ukraine to recapture. we're hearing from a top official there that the current

situation in this city is, quote/unquote, stable but we're also seeing this video posted online on russian social media of the kherson administration building where the russian flag is no longer flying. what is going on in this city? >> reporter: yeah, yasmin, this has been one of the leading news stories in the south for the last couple of weeks. short answer, is the communications are so bad there, we are not there, we're in kyiv as you mentioned. it is very hard to get a straight story, obviously, from what is happening right inside. just to kind of give our audience a little bit of background and a reminder, kherson was one of the first cities that russia occupied at the beginning of the war. one of the four areas that president putin annexed and it's very strategic. it serves as the land bridge to russian mainland. what's been happening in the last couple of weeks, russia has basically evacuating civilians. tens of thousands of civilians. they've moved out of the city

center and moved into russian-controlled areas. kyiv caused that forcible displacement. president zelenskyy said that russia is wanting to turn kherson into a zone without civilization. there were reports that soldiers were leaving kherson, even evacuated their soldiers out of hospitals. but really what's happening right now -- and, again, we are not there. we are hearing from ukrainian official that is they are throwing caution on the idea that russia is retreating. they say russia is digging in, there's military in the city there, saying, yes, russia has moved checkpoints. there's not a flag above some of the civil administration buildings. but the deputy head of the kherson regional council just spoke with one of my colleagues and he believes that what russia is doing -- this is from ukrainian officials -- he believes that what russia is doing is basically setting a trap for the advancing ukrainian military. >> fascinating stuff. molly hunter, i know you got to

go. i'm going to let you go. thank you for that. general, i want to talk about kind of this change in rhetoric that we're hearing from moscow, specifically, obviously, a few months ago. it was a much different story. we were having a very different conversation. now we're seeing a toned-down rhetoric with the use of tactile nuclear weapons. what do you make of it? >> this is part of russia's information campaign. and so russia continues to send mixed messages on whether they're going to use nuclear weapons or chemical weapons. they like to keep the u.s. and nato on their toes. keep them guessing about what they're planning to do. i would not stop my watchful eye on ensuring that russia does not use nuclear weapons. i see this as an information campaign to keep the u.s. and

nato on their toes. >> and then as i was talking about with molly, right, this idea of the possibility that russia is actually retreating from kherson, one of the first areas they captured during the beginnings of this war, you talked a lot about much of the hearsay that she is hearing and reporting on, it is happening in other areas of the eastern part of ukraine. it speaks to, of course, russia's military capabilities or lack thereof and also this idea now that we're learning that russia is looking specifically to iran and north korea for more weapons. what does that say to you? >> it's two pieces to your question. number one, in kherson, i see it a little bit differently. kherson is a major city. that could be a tremendous urban warfare battle for both russia and ukraine. and so i would not discount the fact that there's very limited activity going on in that city. i see the russians are probably

preparing to conduct more warfare or level the city like they did in mariupol with all the bombs that come in and just flatten the city. so i would be careful with that one there. >> all right, lieutenant general, we thank you as always. appreciate it, sir. coming up, everybody. we are tracking one midterm race that is closer than any expert predicted. the fight to be new york's governor. the star power kathy hochul is getting today. but dozens of governments have asked for federal assistance to keep their elections secure this november. why are so many still waiting for the help? we'll be right back. help we'll be right back. (vo) with their verizon private 5g network, associated british ports can now precisely orchestrate nearly 600,000 vehicles passing through their uk port every year. don't just connect your business. right on time. make it even smarter. we call this enterprise intelligence.

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more than 100 state and local jurisdictions are on a wait list for federal government cybersecurity assistance. that is according to two people that are familiar with this backlog. this assistance includes tests to determine the vulnerability of the computer networks to hackers, foreign and domestic. joining me now is julia ainsley. it's great to see you. why is there a wait list so close to election day? five days out, and just how crucial are these tests to make sure everything is up and running for election day? >> good questions, yasmin. let's start with the fact that it's unlikely that a voting machine can be hacked. most of those are offline. but as we saw from the way the russians tried to interfere in the 2016 election, which was detailed in the robert mueller report, it's possible that they could hack into voting websites, change who is on the voter registration rolls, delete voters. these are all reasons why state and local jurisdictions want the

help of the federal government to do these intensive tests that they call penetration tests to say, hey, can you hack into our systems. let us know. get a cyber expert to see if they can find their way in there. that way if there is a vulnerability, we can protect against it before election day. there are more than 100 state and local jurisdictions who have asked for this help and they haven't gotten it. and it flies in the face from what cisa has been telling us. they told nbc and cbs, it's up to states to come to us. we're here to offer this help. we're doing everything we can with states to ensure they have all the help they need. now we're finding, in fact, states and locals are coming to them and they're not able to provide all of the help. i heard from someone, this is still safer than it has been in the past. but they still need more help. >> julia ainsley for us. thank you. in new york, it's triple "h," harris, hilary and hochul.

the vice president, the former secretary of state, and the current attorney general tish james will be joining kathy hochul for a rally. lee zeldin has had a lift from desantis, youngkin as well. hochul has a lead of just 6.2 percentage points in the deep blue state. democrats, they are decidedly on edge. ron allen has more for us. new york has not seen a competitive governor's race like this since 1994. why has it come to hochul needing the vice president, former secretary of state as well and attorney general to help out. what's the messaging here? >> reporter: that's a really -- that's a really good question. part of it is analysts say the national mood that republicans are very energized compared to

democrats. part of it may be, remember, she's trying to win this job as governor outright for the first time. she was appointed governor when cuomo had to step aside a year ago and she would be the first woman elected governor here. part of it is that lee zeldin, the republican challenger, has run an aggressive campaign and his message has been about crime and about the fear of crime and it seems to resonate, particularly in new york city where there's been a lot of crime lately and as has been the case across the country. hochul, this morning, is on a get out the vote campaign crusade. early voting started here over the weekend. she was with mayor adams here in new york. again, pushing also the anti-crime message. and then later today, she will be here, all women's college on the upper westside of manhattan with hillary clinton, letitia james and kamala harris. but lee zeldin has been pushing

this message of crime so aggressively. take a listen to one of his ads that seems to sum up his entire. take a listen. >> kathy hochul failed you. i won't. my first day as governor, i'll declare a crime emergency, i'll stop the cashless bail and fire weak prosecutors. vote like your life depends on it, because it does. >> reporter: hochul has been pushing back in a number of ways, emphasizing the gun issue. remember, we had that awful shooting in buffalo here some months ago and she has been pushing for gun safety legislation and she's done some things here that her challenger is not a proponent of gun safety measures at all. that's the way she's been fighting the crime issue. she's been putting a message of competence. she's been on the job for several months here. yes, democrats have a two to one advantage here. they usually pull and wins in the teens. the margin seems to be very narrow. voting is under way. it's about getting out the vote. getting out the vote.

that's why these heavy hitters are coming here to rally with governor hochul. >> i interviewed the governor back in buffalo then ahead of the supreme court decision and she talked about her concerns when it came to gun legislation here in the state of new york and has been consistent on that since then and before that as well. ron allen for us. thank you, sir. coming up, everybody, six months after the elementary school shooting in uvalde, texas, how a new superintendent is working to keep kids safe and reassure parents. >> do you see a day when things start getting better? >> i hope so. i don't know when that is. ” by fleetwood mac ♪ you ready? ♪ ♪ ♪ can you hear me calling ♪ ♪ out your name? ♪ ♪ you know that i've falling ♪ ♪ and i don't know what to say ♪ ♪ oh, i ♪

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massacre. he talked to morgan chesky. what did he tell you about how the community is doing right now and what challenges lie ahead? >> gary patterson was very forthcoming. we had a chance to speak for more than an hour during which time he explained the challenges that you mentioned facing this community, not just from a physical sense in helping make these schools more secure, but on an emotional level as well, acknowledging what everybody knows, and that it will be an incredibly long road ahead. >> high security, all over, very visible security. >> reporter: for gary patterson, it's day two. >> if you see down here, you have another trooper visible on the east side. if you were to walk around -- >> reporter: every campus? multiple troopers? his job split between changes you can see and healing the

pain you can't. >> reporter: he stresses a security overall is under way. >> fencing is going up. security gates. cameras at the vestibule. you have to be buzzed in. we are working on electronic card swipe. >> reporter: critical with the district's entire police force suspended, rebuilding trust. what do you tell a parent who tells you they don't trust law enforcement anymore to protect their kid? >> i think that's where we are right now. there's a lack of trust in each organization that responded. >> reporter: trust compromised with every new video. further confirming the fatal disconnects between officers and the young victims trapped inside. when you hear the director of dps say despite everything that's happened, that agency has not failed this community, what do you say to that? >> i say it's discouraging. >> reporter: do you see a day when things start getting better? >> i hope so.

i don't know when that is. it's not today. or tomorrow. it's a strong school district and a strong community. i think we will come together and we can make progress. >> patterson went on to tell me he has been meeting with the parents of the children who were lost in that shooting on may 24th. he says he plans to meet with each of them, and he will have a full uvalde school staff meeting within the next week to outline a hopeful plan of moving forward. >> the parents are still very much struggling. that does it for me in this busy hour. i will be back tomorrow. you can catch me weekends at 2:00 p.m. eastern. "andrea mitchell reports" is next. this week is your chance to try any subway footlong for free. like the subway series menu.

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right now on "andrea mitchell reports," in the final run-up to the midterms, president biden issuing a dire warning about election deniers and political violence in an evening speech to the nation. but voters are worrying most about the economy. did he change any minds? in a stunning twist, top trump advisor and former intelligence add kash patel is granted immunity. what h